Even Lawmakers are Uncertain About the Estate Tax…

It’s May, and five months have passed without a federal estate tax.  When can estate planners expect any resolution on the uncertainty of the estate tax in 2010 and beyond?  According to two House leaders who recently addressed the issue, “soon” and sometime “this year:”

• At the end of April, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer stated that he expects work on the estate tax to begin soon.
• Meanwhile, Sander Levin, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, recently stated that he expects to enact a retroactive estate at 2009 levels this year, suggesting that it could be rolled in with other tax issues to be addressed in June.

See Dow Jones Newswires, US Rep Hoyer: Work To Begin On Renewing Bush Tax Cuts In June, May 4, 2010; Kim Dixon, Top lawmaker sees hedge fund, div tax, Reuters, April 26, 2010.